In a digital computer system, computer programs provided by a number of vendors typically organize data for processing in a number of diverse formats. Each vendor may use different formats for organizing the data processed by its programs, with the formats being selected to enhance the processing by the particular program. Some programs may also include conversion routines which allow the program to import data from files having selected formats to a format used by the program, and to export data from the format used by the program to another format.
Some document interchange formats have been proposed as standard formats for use by programs, and a number of programs support those formats at least to the extent that they convert data from the formats normally processed by them to one or more of the standard document interchange formats, thereby facilitating export of the data at least to the standard formats. In addition, typically the same programs will also convert data from the standard document interchange formats to the formats normally used by them, thereby facilitating import of the data at least from the standard formats.